Austinís anti-gang initiative, also
known as the Neighborhood Gang Enforcement Team, was designed to combat the
cityís increasing gang violence. The Neighborhood Gang Enforcement Team (the
Team) represents a joint effort between citizens, schools, community
organizations, businesses, the police and other government agencies. The Team
has engaged in a three-prong effort to apply aggressive suppression,
intervention, and prevention efforts to eradicate gang activity and the fear it
causes in Austinís schools.

Suppression activities

focused on a zero
tolerance policy for gang-related violence, narcotic trafficking, property
crime and other aspects of gang activity. Crime analysis contributed to
the identification and documentation of individual gang members and their
activity. By using a "gang activity tracking system" and other crime
analysis tools, the gang suppression unit has been able to identify "hot
spots" of gang activity. Utilizing geographical information system
software, maps are produced that show specific streets of major concern.
The "hot spot" information allows resources to be concentrated in the
areas of the city that will produce the most results.

In 1996, six locations were identified
and intense pressure was put on gang members in these areas for a 90-day period.
Using personnel from throughout the police department, Operation "Clean Sweep"
mobilized mounted patrol, traffic officers, motorcycle officers and an increase
in the number of walking beats. During this time, the areas were targeted for 16
hours per day with a zero tolerance policy. Operation "Clean Sweep" resulted in
nearly 600 arrests and 31 consecutive days without a homicide.

Intervention activities

aimed to develop the
capacity within neighborhoods and school law enforcement to reach out to
gang members and their families. The initiation of the intervention
activity was a gang awareness conference that was co-hosted by the Austin
Independent School District and the Austin Police Department. The
conference brought together approximately 200 citizens, representatives
from community organizations, and police officers from the school district
and the City. The agenda included:

an overview of Austinís gang
activities;

addressing gang activities on school
campuses and in neighborhoods;

an overview of the federal grant
that funded the project;

an introduction to the neighborhood
gang enforcement team;

team planning that included
identifying gang-related problems and solutions for their particular areas;
and

group discussion at the closing.

At this conference, leaders for 10
geographically based teams were picked and asked to recruit additional citizens
for participation. These groups received follow-up training that included
advanced problem solving and discussions of particular gang problems. The
geographically based teams also had access to some of the crime analysis
information mentioned earlier.

The formation of the Gang Enforcement
Team and co-hosting the citizensí conference strengthened the relationship
between the Police Department-Gang Unit and the School District Police. Training
was another aspect of forming the Team. The Austin Police Department provided
training for the School District police officers on the following topics:
operation of street gangs; officer safety; high-profiling techniques; and
methods for gathering gang intelligence information. The training enabled the
School District to enhance their contacts with gang members and it ensured that
both agencies were working toward the same goals.

Prevention activities

have involved working
with families, schools, and neighborhoods to prevent new membership in
gangs through early recognition and intervention. Training parents,
teachers and other neighborhood residents to recognize the signs of gang
activity helps to reduce gang membership. Further, the school district
police and the City gang unit developed a gang tracking database that
expands the whole Teamís access to gang information. The tracking system
represents an exchange of information between the two police departments
via an information network. It is the equivalent of all the officers
sharing the general information from their files and having that
information in a central location. More specifically, the tracking system:

identifies the criminal
characteristics of the four major gang nations;

tracks the major gang nationsí
movement across the City;

correlates gang sets with their
alliances to the gang nations; and

assists in the interpretation of
gang graffiti.

The tracking system provides a more
sophisticated form of information that can be communicated to neighborhood
residents by school and City police officers.

2. When was the program created and
why?

The Team was started in 1996 with an
"Anti-Gang" grant from the Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented
Policing Services (COPS). Submission of the grant application was preceded by
the formation, in the early 1990s, of the "Mayorís Task Force on Gangs." The
task force included citizens, the Austin Police Department, Austin Independent
School District, and the Parks and Recreation Department.

3. How do you measure the programís
effectiveness?

An increased exchange of information
between the City and the School District police departments was measured by the
number of users logging on to the information network.

Citizen involvement was measured by
attendance at conferences, workshops, and the smaller neighborhood-based action
groups.

Decreased gang activity was measured by
the fact that, even though Austin is a fast growing metropolitan area, the
number of gang-related incidents has held steady. At times, there have even been
reductions in major incidence of gang-related crimes, for example, the 31 days
without a homicide during Operation Clean Sweep.

4. How is the program
financed?

Initial funding came from an
"Anti-Gang" grant from the Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented
Policing Services (COPS). Ongoing funding comes from the City of Austin, Police
Department and the Austin Independent School District.

5. How is the community involved in the
program, if at all? How has the community responded to the
program?

The community has been involved since
the beginning: from the formation of the Mayorís Gang Task Force to the
neighborhood groups currently working with the law enforcement agencies.
Citizens get training and other information from the officers and the officers
get current information about gang activity from the citizens.